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What's changed one month after the school shooting in Parkland?

CNN

4:56 AM, Mar 14, 2018

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PARKLAND, FL - FEBRUARY 20: Madison Fox is hugged as the West Boca High School student joined hundreds of fellow students that walked to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in honor of the 17 students shot dead last week on February 20, 2018 in Parkland, Florida. Police arrested 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz for killing 17 people at the high school. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Joe Raedle

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A month ago, a former student roamed the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, opening fire on terrified students and teachers at the Florida school.

From there, the students will turn their attention to March 24, when gun control activists nationwide will participate in the March for Our Lives in Washington. The event was created by Stoneman Douglas students.

A local March for Our Lives is also planned for that day in Parkland, for people who may not be able to make it to the nation's capital.

Cruz remains in the Broward County Jail, where he's segregated from other inmates. Prosecutors announced in court filings Tuesday that they will seek the death penalty. They listed several factors, including that Cruz knowingly created a risk of death for many people and that the shooting was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel."

His attorneys had previously indicated he is willing to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty. Prosecutors asked the court to put several provisions in place in the event his defense should introduce his mental health. Cruz's defense team has said he battled with mental illness and depression after his adoptive mother died.

The law, known as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, tightens gun control in several ways, and also allows some teachers to be armed.

The National Rifle Association did not especially like a provision of the law that raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21. It immediately filed a federal lawsuit against Florida, saying the age mandate violates the Second and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.

A controversial part of the new Florida law allows for the arming of some teachers if the local school district and local sheriff's department agree. A few days after that bill passed, the White House proposed providing some school personnel with "rigorous" firearms training, and backed a bill to improve criminal background checks on gun buyers. It backpedaled on the idea of increasing the minimum age to buy certain firearms -- a policy President Donald Trump had said he would support.

The school district

The Broward County school board passed a 24-point resolution last week calling for Congress to ban assault weapons, require universal background checks and broaden the perimeters of school gun-free zones. But unlike state and federal officials, the school board slammed the idea of arming teachers.

Embattled Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel has rejected calls for his resignation amid accusations that his department's incompetence failed to stop the gunman.

The sheriff's office recently launched a website dedicated to "setting the record straight." It says that, while deputies responded to Cruz's home multiple times in the past, there was nothing criminal nor dangerous happening that would warrant an arrest.